Free toot-along idea isn't music to union's ears Professionals want to be sure amateurs don't take their jobs

Mayor Daley's plan to fill the streets with spontaneous outbreaksof music this summer has hit a somewhat sour note with a localmusicians union concerned about preserving jobs for paidprofessionals.

The Chicago Federation of Musicians is all for the idea of makingmusic this year's version of "Cows on Parade." They're even willingto contribute funding for the Midwest marketing campaign from theAmerican Federation of Music's multimillion-dollar trust fund.

What they don't understand is the appeal of handing harmonicas,kazoos and mini-bongo drums to pedestrians strolling down the street.

Even more important, they want to make certain that musicians whojoin the chorus of "Music Everywhere" get paid for their work. Theywant a guarantee that jobs currently held by professional musicians--at the Cultural Center, Summerdance, Taste of Chicago and more than100 programs at the Daley Center Plaza--won't get handed off tounpaid amateurs.

"Our biggest concern is that they're not going to exploit people.I'm not against amateur musicians. I'm against displacingprofessional musicians from jobs they normally play," federationPresident Ed Ward said.

"If they're building a skyscraper downtown and they're short 10electricians, they don't go out on the corner, put up a sign andinvite 10 people off the street to come in and be electricians. Theygo to the electricians' union and get 10 people who know how to dothe work and comply with city codes."

Special Events Director Jim Law said the city has every intentionof "paying professional musicians for much of the programming thatwill constitute 'Music Everywhere.' "

The precise mix of professionals and amateurs, the pay scale formusicians and the overall program budget, expected to rely heavily oncorporate sponsorships, have yet to be worked out. That's apparentlybecause Daley rushed to announce the summerlong festival March 24during the city's annual convention and tourism luncheon at McCormickPlace.

"Their concern--and it's a legitimate one--is that we've announcedthe event and we're still working out some of the details," Law said.

"We're not trying to get free services out of musicians. The ideais not to displace musicians, but to celebrate them. We're not tryingto cost them jobs. We hope more of them get hired."

When Daley announced the program, he was long on concept and shorton details.

"Music Everywhere" was billed as the 2002 equivalent of "Cows onParade" and "Suite Home Chicago"--a chance to market the city'spopular summer music festivals and year-round music staples under asingle marketing umbrella and stage as many as 20 spontaneous musicevents across the city at any given time.

That's everything from a game of musical chairs at Pioneer Courtor a barbershop quartet at O'Hare Airport to an organ grinder outsideWater Tower Place and a marching band or karaoke machine spicing up aneighborhood commercial strip.

For an added element of surprise, Cultural Affairs CommissionerLois Weisberg even talked about handing kazoos, harmonicas and mini-sets of bongo drums to pedestrians walking down the street.

On Thursday, Ward questioned both the "wisdom" and appeal of thoseparticipatory elements.

"If somebody gave you a harmonica, could you play a concerto? Ifsomebody handed you a kazoo, could you entertain people for 10minutes? If I gave you a set of bongos, would it be any differentthan giving it to a 5-year-old?" he said.

"I don't know how much it'll hold anybody's interest. People payto see and hear professional musicians perform."

Law countered: "They have to give it a chance. In the beginning,there was a certain amount of doubt about the cows, too. Theimportant thing is we're able to work on improving the event as itevolves. We can always make adjustments."